Because we're in an era where people tend to treat each one of the 162 regular season games like a regular season NFL game, the level of panic surrounding the Mets (and other teams that are struggling early this season) is unhealthily high.
But that doesn't mean concern shouldn't exist.
The Mets sit at 7-9 entering play Monday, and are on a five-game losing streak that came at Citi Field against the Diamondbacks and Athletics.
Teams, especially ones that are struggling offensively, will often look listless. Players aren't going to be pumped up about 78 mph grounders and pop-ups, and it's impossible to make things happen on the bases when they're usually empty.
With the Mets' five-game losing streak have come accusations that the team has no heart or doesn't care. Of course, there is no reason to believe that's the case.
The many mental mistakes by Francisco Lindorearly this seasonand a recent string of misplays/not being able to make tough plays by others on defense are likely anomalies.
But it has been ugly, with New York mustering just nine runs during its five-game losing streak, which included being shut out by the A's twice.
For the Mets, what has hurt them the most is an offense that -- withoutJuan Soto for the last 10 days -- features just two regular players who have an OPS above .690.
A deeper look at the numbers tells a fuller story, though the sample size remains small.
Lindor has a .572 OPS, but his strikeout rate is a tick down and his walk rate is way up -- at 13.3 percent, which is the best of his career. His line drive percentage (29.4) is also better than his career average and the best it's been as a Met. So he is clearly not lost at the plate.
One thing that is a bit low is his fly ball rate (21.6 percent), which is notably down. Coming off hamate surgery, there was a possibility that Lindor's power would suffer for a bit, as sports surgeon Deepak Chona explained to SNY in February.
"The amount of time varies," Chona said about the power aspect, "but generally projects to six weeks after returning."
Francisco Alvarez, who had the same surgery as Lindor last season, struggled over his first 20 games post-surgery, slashing just .232/.321/.304 with one home run, two doubles, and a .625 OPS. But from May 26 through the end of the season, Alvarez excelled, hitting .266/.347/.503 (.850 OPS) with 10 homers, 10 doubles, and one triple in 56 games. And Alvarez's season OPS of .787 was the best of his young career.
It has also been a bit of a struggle for Bo Bichette, but he has been very good since the calendar flipped to April, slashing .304/.360/.413 in 50 plate appearances.
The main area for concern with Bichette would be the strikeouts piling up. He has fanned 19 times already in 16 games after striking out just 91 times in 139 games in 2025. Given how Bichette's career has gone to this point and his admission that he was pressing a bit early on, it's fair to believe he'll get he strikeouts under control once he stops expanding the zone as much.
Then there's Jorge Polanco, who usually sprays line drives all over the field, but has been very pull-happy to start the season. Polanco, who has been limited by an Achilles issue that seems to be resolving, has also hit into tough luck, with his .205 BABIP being the worst of his career and nearly 100 points lower than his career BABIP of .295.
If there's one key cog whose struggles can't be explained away, it's Marcus Semien, who has just two hits in his last 23 at-bats and an OPS+ of 52 in 64 plate appearances this season.
Semien, whose biggest contribution is likely to come with the glove at second base and who will ordinarily hit near the bottom of the lineup, doesn't need to be a star again. But his early difficulties at the plate are alarming.
The 35-year-old's bat speed is continuing to tick down, and is in the 6th percentile. Meanwhile, Semien's xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, and barrel percentage are all well below average, and worse than they were last season. His walk rate, which was 9.4 percent and in the 63rd percentile in 2025, is 6.3 percent and in the 23rd percentile in 2026.
Elsewhere on the roster, there shouldn't be much cause for concern.
Despite a clunker by Kodai Senga on Saturday, which included being let down by his defense, a rotation fronted by Nolan McLean, Freddy Peralta, and Clay Holmes -- with Christian Scott and Jonah Tong as depth options -- should be just fine.
The same goes for a bullpen that might be one late-inning arm short at the moment, but got strong starts to the season from Devin Williams, Brooks Raley, Huascar Brazoban, Tobias Myers, and Luke Weaver (before a few tough outings for Weaver during the aforementioned homestand).
The relief unit should get a big boost with the return of A.J. Minter (perhaps in a few weeks), and could be jolted by someone like prospect Ryan Lambert a bit further down the line.
That takes us back to the offense, which could get Soto back at some point in the next 10 days or so.
Should there be some concern? Yes, especially when it comes to a player like Semien. But there's no reason to believe that run production will be much of an issue for this team, especially when Soto returns. And the advanced numbers bear that out.
It's possible it takes a bit longer for things to stabilize, with the Soto-less Mets facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday and Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday, but there is no reason to panic.
Raphielle Johnson